Tag: farmers-herdsmen clash

In every adversity, challenge or dark cloud, there is an opportunity waiting to be explored, exploited and tapped. Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, the primary driving force for finding solutions to challenges that were otherwise depicted as intractable. But it takes the discerning mind, willing, ready to learn lessons, engage in extensive dialogue, draw the right conclusions to say “never again” to mischief and situations that will claim lives and property and disrupt the natural order and harmony of society.

This discourse is set in the context of the opportunities to be taken away from the recent loss of lives and property arising from the herdsmen attacks and killing of farmers in parts of the country. We should not in any way be happy or glorify what has happened. It is bad for society, its laws, economic progress and development. It is against the natural laws of God that no one should take a life which they did not create or have the power to bring back if they regret their action. Since what happened cannot be reversed, it is what the living take away from it that matters. The first takeaway is that the crisis provides the opportunity for our derelict security and intelligence forces to plan and unveil new ideas that will nip such attacks in the bud. It makes no sense to assure and reassure people who have lost their loved ones after mass murder. What makes sense is to report to Nigerians that plots of mass murder have been unveiled, those behind them arrested and prosecuted and security reinforced in the neighbourhood.

The second opportunity is that considering the claims and counterclaims and the disparate voices, it is now time for us as Nigerians of different ethnic and religious persuasions, living in different states and locations and possibly, nurturing different ethics and morals to come together, go into dialogue and fashion out a conducive way of governance and structures that will be fair to all, or at least, that captures the imagination of the a majority without in any way infringing on the rights of the minorities. Thus, President Muhammadu Buhari needs to understand that his New Year address to Nigerians, where he denied the need for restructuring, is not supported by the facts and dynamics of modern Nigerian society. We either sit down and discuss and peacefully agree on governance mechanisms or we may soon be on one another’s throats and this time round, no one can guarantee that it will end in the so-called One Nigeria.

Anyone who follows the media actively will see that Nigerians have started talking. But the talk is not yet a dialogue and organised with rules that will lead to decisions. They are words of anger and frustration emerging from the different groups and camps. And there seems to be no rules in the talks when you consider such claims from a certain Prof. Umar Labdo Muhammad of the Faculty of Humanities, Northwest University, Kano that Benue State belongs to the Fulani by right of conquest. This is a historical fallacy and it is not supported by any historical or factual situation. At the same time, it is a grievous insult on persons who have lost loved ones and lacks fellow feeling. Incidentally, while the security agencies have not gone for him, they are attempting to arrest a preacher who asked his followers not to vote for the President come 2019 if he put himself for a reelection. Therefore, the talks should not be allowed to degenerate but become channelled to fruition. It also makes no sense for the state to seek, in a discriminatory manner, to enforce imaginary laws about hate or inciting speech. National and state security should not be interpreted to mean regime security in as much as individuals have not committed offences known to our legal and constitutional jurisprudence.

The third opportunity is the livelihood challenge which has not been treated with the urgency which it deserves. Yes, herdsmen need to feed their cattle and pastures and water seem to be in short supply. They are moving South in search of pastures and water. But there is abundance of land in the North-East and North-West of Nigeria. However, the only thing is that large stretches of the land have been impaired by desertification and drought. But this has not always been so. The federal, state and local governments did little or nothing to adapt, mitigate and fight back negative climate change when it was advancing into those territories. The tree planting campaigns, such as the Great Green Wall projects, etc. were simply for the fun of it and no one took them seriously in terms of accountability for results and value for money. Some countries like Israel converted desert lands into green lush farms that support lives and livelihoods. Therefore, now is the time to push back the desert, vegetate the land, plant more trees and get communities sustainably involved in the mitigation and adaptation measures. It will take time to yield fruits but a journey of a thousand miles starts with one bold step.

Nigerians need to be reminded that there are even very large portions of land in states like Niger which have moderate rates of desertification and have water as well which could be used for ranches to settle the herdsmen. Niger State, for instance, has a land area which is more than double the size of the entire five states of the South-East and its population density is quite low. Thus, asking states, for instance, in the South-East for land will yield no positive fruit because the land is not available in the first instance. Ranching should be done in the states where these herdsmen originate from. Anyone who wants further land in any other state should privately negotiate and acquire the land like other businessmen and women do. The idea of cattle colonies that will be established in other states, if some compromised governors are coaxed into acquiring private land in their states for the purpose, will only create more tension and conflict in Nigeria. Any state governor who acquires private lands for this purpose will face the legal challenge of justifying what public purpose is served by this arrangement.

The third opportunity leads to the fourth. The value chain of cattle rearing cannot be fully exploited in the current approach of nomadism. The yield in terms of meat and milk and even hides and skin under the present arrangement is so little when compared to other countries where cows are ranched. The economic opportunity arises which if harnessed will improve the livelihoods of the herdsmen who will now live a settled life, create more employment, add more value to the economy in increased products, taxation, etc. Thus, this should be seen as opportunity to improve the economy.

At the end of the day, if the opportunities are harnessed, it will be a win-win for all.

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The pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Prof. Placid Njoku, has suggested that water-trap technology be adopted to stop herdsmen from open grazing. This, he said, would end the clashes between them and farmers.

Njoku attributed the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers to a clash of culture and rights rooted in genuine desire for survival.

Njoku, an agric expert, made the submissions in his lecture titled, ‘Furthering knowledge: Potentiating food security for national development,’ at the 8th convocation and silver jubilee of the university.

He said the perennial clashes between farmers and herdsmen were often ignited as herdsmen exercised their culture of being mobile and feeding their animals.

He said they clashed with farmers who, on the other hand, “exercise their culture to be sedentary and their right to plant crops to feed their families and the nation.”

On how to resolve the clashes, Njoku said, “The saving grace is to provide innovations, technologies and programmes to ensure safety for the herdsmen in the course of pasturing.”

He added, “He (herdsmen) should avail himself of social programmes of the government to achieve more secure environment for his animals.

“Potential programmes that can help water retention in the Savannah Belt, include the Great Green Wall Project, the Water Trap Technology and irrigation from high water tables. Such programmes will help in pasture and fodder production.”

Njoku made the suggestion even as the Abia State Police Command set up a committee to end the clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state.

Members of the committee include representatives of farmers, herdsmen, the police, army, DSS, local government chairmen and traditional rulers.

Inaugurating the committee at the Police Officers’ Mess in Umuahia, the state Police Commissioner, Anthony Ogbizi, said the time for bickering over grazing land had gone.

He urged community leaders and residents of the state to prevail on one another to maintain the peace and not fan the embers of violence through permanent fixation on land ownership.

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The Federal Government has commenced nationwide consultations with community, traditional, religious and opinion leaders (led by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo) towards ending the incessant farmers-herdsmen conflicts in Nigeria.

We note that violent conflicts between nomadic herders from northern Nigeria and sedentary farming communities in the central and southern zones have escalated in recent years and are spreading southward, threatening the country’s security and stability. With an estimated death toll of 2,500 people in 2016, these clashes are becoming as potentially dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East. As these conflicts increase in frequency, intensity and geographical scope, so do their humanitarian and economic tolls exacerbate.

It is therefore on this backdrop that the National Association of Nigerian Traders commends the Federal Government over the current initiative of open nationwide consultations to address the needless conflicts. NANTS asserts that although government’s assertive action is long overdue, the consultation is a way of extending an olive branch to the perpetrators of such crimes across the country. The government should however bear in mind that those who are killer-herdsmen may require more than consultation; therefore, they should be properly identified and consequently prosecuted with the long arm of the law so that others who are planning or intending to do the same will be able to learn their lessons. Such prosecutorial/legal actions would further strengthen the resolve of government’s recognition of the sanctity of human rights of citizens and particularly the right to life. To this end, government and well-meaning Nigerians must be ready to condemn in the most unequivocal and sturdy terms the acts of violence perpetrated by any person and more particularly, the killing and maiming of women and children in the farms. These despicable and nefarious activities today instill fears in small scale farmers and often prevent them from going to the farms, resulting in shrinking agricultural productivity and constantly reducing the nation to the status of food import dependence.

In addition to the above, the consultations must weigh strongly towards government’s recognition of the agricultural sector’s capacity/impact on food and livelihoods security, employment generation, GDP and overall economic diversification and growth which are fundamental pursuits and focus of the present administration. We therefore add that in the course of the consultations, farmers who have grievances that are legitimate must be listened to and assuaged appropriately given that many of them have lost all they have to the crisis.

We further appeal to state governments to show adequate commitment to the course of resolving these conflicts by strongly collaborating with the Federal Government in these consultations. Such a collaboration would send a strong signal to citizens, particularly those involved or their cohorts, on government’s resolve and actions.

Similarly, as the consultation continues, NANTS strongly recommends that the law enforcement agencies must wake up and be prepared to perform their constitutional roles, namely; the protection of lives and property and especially, the helpless and hapless farmers who are feeding the nation. The laxity and/or negligence on the part of the law enforcement agencies with regard to fishing out criminals involved in the farmers-herdsmen crisis can no longer be comprehended. Government must rise up to the challenge of awakening law enforcement apparatus for the entrenchment of lasting peace in the rural communities across the nation.

There is also the need to strengthen security arrangements around herders and farming communities especially in the North-Central zone. This will require that government, security agencies, NGOs and the general public sustain campaigns against cattle rustling and rural banditry. Such campaigns should be extended to the improvement of early-warning systems; maintenance of operational readiness of rural-based policing; the encouragement of communication and collaboration with local authorities; and the tightening of control of production, circulation and possession of illicit firearms and ammunition, including the strengthening of cross-border cooperation with neighbouring countries’ security forces.

Furthermore, NANTS recommends that conflict mediation, resolution, reconciliation and peace-building mechanisms be established and strengthened within the state and local government levels, and also within rural communities particularly in areas that have been most affected by these conflicts. More so, the establishment and operationalisation of contemporary grazing reserves should be intensified by consenting states to improve in-house livestock production and management in order to minimise contacts and friction between herders and farmers. Government should further address environmental factors that are driving herders’ migration to the south, and this will require stepping up implementation of programmes under the Great Green Wall Initiative for the Sahara and the Sahel, a trans-African project designed to restore drought-and-desert degraded environments and livelihoods including in Nigeria’s far Northern belt; and developing strategies for mitigating climate change impact in the far Northern states.

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Police operatives have been deployed in Jankwe community, Obi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State following a clash between herdsmen and farmers which claimed one life.

Our correspondent gathered that the violence started in Duduguru Village in the Jankwe Local Council Development Area.

It was learnt that trouble started when some herdsmen stormed the community in an attempt to recover an axe confiscated from a herder who allegedly grazed his animals on a farm some weeks back.

According to a source, the move to retrieve the axe was resisted by the farmers on Saturday evening leading to a violent clash between the two groups which resulted in the death of one person.

Northern City News learnt that scores of others were injured in the clash.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Nasarawa State Command, DSP Idrisu Kennedy, who confirmed the incident, however, said peace had since been restored in the area.

The police called on the parties to lay down their arms and embrace peace.

“The command is aware of the skirmish in which one person was killed. We have deployed more personnel to calm down the situation in the area,” he stated.

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Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday met with some northern leaders as part of Federal Government’s efforts aimed at ending the incessant farmers, cattle rearers’ clashes in parts of the country.

Among those who attended the meeting held inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja were the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II; the Lamido of Adamawa, Muhammadu Musdafa; and elder statesman Alhaji Ahmed Joda, among other leaders of the Fulani communities.

Those who attended the meeting did not speak with State House correspondents.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, however, in statement described the meeting as the first in a series of national consultations with all relevant groups designed to find a lasting solution to the farmers-herders’ conflict in parts of the country.

Akande said having met with leaders of the Fulani communities, Osinbajo would focus on other interest groups in subsequent meetings.

He disclosed that at the meeting, previous reports on the conflict were presented by the delegation and causes of the conflict were analysed.

He said the meeting condemned the killing of children and women and highlighted the need for law enforcement and other government’s agencies to perform their constitutional roles.

Akande quoted the Vice-President as assuring the delegation of the Federal Government’s resolve and commitment to the entrenchment of lasting peace in all communities across the country and the resolution of all legitimate grievances.

“There is nothing much more important now in showing our leadership beyond preventing tragedy and destruction of everything we have built as a nation.

“The entire Nigeria enterprise is bigger than other interests. The overall objective is ensuring that our nation is not enveloped by another crisis.

“We now have an opportunity to do something. We have the opportunity to resolve the issues and to build a nation, where we and our children can live in peace,” Osinbajo reportedly said.

Akande added that following the Vice-President’s visit to Adamawa State last week, food items had been distributed to all the victims in the affected communities.

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The Commissioner for Special Duties in Osun State, Mr. Mudashiru Oguntola, has said the state has been able to settle about 5,000 conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in the state.

Oguntola said the proactive measures put in place by the state and the prompt resolution of the cases was the reason why there had been no violent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the state.

The commissioner said this in Osogbo at a press briefing attended by members of staff and students of the Armed Forces Command College, Jaji Kaduna, who are on study tour to the state.

The commissioner listed Iwo, Ila, Imesiile and Esaoke as some of the towns where these conflicts between herdsmen and farmers were recorded. He added that the clashes between herdsmen and farmers were some of the greatest security challenges currently facing the nation.

He said, “The committee set up by state government on Security and Youth Empowerment in 2016 has been able to settle 5,000 cases between herdsmen and farmers in the state. That is why Osun is the most peaceful state especially when it comes to the peaceful coexistence between herdsmen and farmers.

“Also, in reducing the problem of herdsmen, we have dug 13 boreholes for herdsmen. We have representative from farmers, chairman of Fulani, market women and men, chairman of Bororo women in farming and others who assist in making peace. We are using traditional way of conflict resolution. That is why there is peace in Osun.”

He explained that most of the cattle rearers in Osun State were born in the state and had stayed long while some of them had married Yoruba women, saying there was the need for all ethnic groups living in the state to live together in peace.

The commissioner urged the herdsmen to get land for rearing their cattle, while stressing that the state government would assist them with necessary amenities in such areas in order to make sure that the existing peace in the state was not truncated.

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The Inspector-General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, has ordered reinforcement in the Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State, where clashes between the farmers and herders in Shaforon, Kikon and Kodomti resulted in the death of 51 persons, mostly women and children.

Idris spoke during a condolence visit to Governor Mohammed Jibrilla over the Numan killings and a bomb blast at Arhan Kunu Mosque, Mubi, that claimed 58 lives.

He said, “The governor has indicated he’s going to ensure a thorough investigation of the killings. We are going to send a team of thoroughbred investigators to assist with the panel of inquiry.

“But we are here to condole with the people of Adamawa over the recent incidents in the state and see some of the reinforcement we are going to bring to the state to prevent a reoccurrence of such incidents.”

As part of the reinforcement promised by Idris at the palace of the Hamman Bachama, Col. Honest Irmiya (retd.), the paramount ruler in the area, five units of police personnel (315 policemen), with three armoured personnel carriers, will be deployed in the three affected communities.

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The Adamawa State Police Command said 27 persons were killed in an overnight clash between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in Safere and Kodomti villages in Numan Local Government Area of Adamawa State on Monday.

The incident, which left scores dead, mostly women and children preceded Tuesday’s dawn suicide attack that rocked a mosque in Mubi, killing 50 persons with several others wounded.

Though the police confirmed the herdsmen farmers’ clash on Tuesday, it did not give casualty figure.

But the Police spokesman Othman Abubakar, a Superintendent of Police, while responding to inquiries, about the clash, said it was a reprisal carried out by farmers against the Fulani community in the area.

“Twenty-seven persons lost their lives in the attacks. The police first information report showed it is a reprisal against the Fulani by some Bachama farmers, “ he said.

However, the Adamawa State Police Commissioner, Moses Jitibo, who spoke through, its spokesman said the police were on top of the crisis.

Nine persons, according to eyewitnesses accounts are reportedly missing in the two affected villages, while the charred remains of victims, mostly women and children have been deposited at the Numan General Hospital, where other survivors are also receiving treatment.

It was gathered that Fulani herdsmen allegedly killed one farmer on his farm while two other women were raped.

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday ordered a military crackdown on bandits operating in rural communities in Zamfara State.

The presidential order followed fresh attacks on some communities in Shinkafi and Maradun Local Government Areas of the state.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

To enable the army to carry out this new mandate, Shehu said the President had approved the request of the Minister of Defence, Brig.Gen. Mansur Dan Ali (retd.), for the stationing of a full battalion of Special Forces in Zamfara State, and the operationalisation of the newly-established 8 Division of the Nigerian Army in Sokoto in the new Order of Battle.

The presidential spokesman said the President had also approved the movement of the 1 Brigade of the Nigerian Army from Sokoto to Gusau upon the take-off of the 8 Division.

The statement read in part, “To tackle the desperate actions of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East, through the use of mostly female, underage girls as suicide bombers, President Buhari has equally approved the setting up of an intelligence fusion centre in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, for the purpose of gathering and sharing intelligence among the security agencies in the country.”

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When the case came up for mention on Tuesday, no plea was taken for want of jurisdiction.

The Prosecuting Officer, ASP Imo Edward, told the court that on November 2, 2017 at about 7:30am, the Divisional Police Officer, Logo Local Government Area of the state received a distress call from unit commander Police Mobile Force 13 Squadron on special duty Ayilamo, DSP Umar Samaila M, that on the same date at about 3am some Fulani herdsmen stormed Azege village, shot and killed one Ortese Kwaghdoo male aged 40 years.

Edward said the herdsmen also shot one Akaa Hingir on the chest and he sustained serious injury.

The Prosecution Officer noted that during investigation, one Gambo Ibrahim Mohammed was arrested and a locally made pistol was recovered from him.

According to him, “The act was punishable under sections 97, 248, 222 of the Penal Code of Benue State and contravened Section 19(7) of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment law of Benue State 2017, punishable under Section 3(1) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) 2000.

Edward however requested more time to conclude investigation.

Presiding Magistrate, Isaac Ajim, ordered that the accused be remanded at the Federal Prison and adjourned the case until February 9th, 2018 for further mention.

The police in Nasarawa State have confirmed the death of a 28-year-old man, Hassan Papalolo, after a fresh clash between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the Awe Local Government Area of the state.

Three others reportedly sustained varying degrees of injury in the skirmish between the two groups.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Nasarawa, DSP Idrisu Kennedy, explained that the deceased was among of a group of youths who protested against the destruction of a farm by herdsmen.

According to him, Papalolo was stabbed and subsequently died when he and other youths invaded an assembly of Fulani herdsmen in protest over the attack on a farmer, Yunusa Makeri, by suspected herdsmen.

The police spokesman said, “The deceased was killed in Awe market during a skirmish between some youths and Fulani herdsmen immediately after the injured farmer, Yunusa Makeri, and two herders were brought to the general hospital with machete wounds.”

Kennedy stated that the command had already deployed more personnel in the crisis areas to maintain law and order.

Our correspondent gathered that the situation degenerated when the Awe youths insisted that only the farmer should be treated in the hospital while preventing medical personnel from attending to the two injured herdsmen.

It was learnt that the Emir of Awe, Alhaji Abubakar Umar, had to appeal to the youths before the injured Fulani herdsmen were allowed to get medical attention.

But the state chairman of the Miyatti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, Alhaji Muhammed Hussaini, said the vigilance group in Awe had arrested the herdsman who destroyed the farm which led to the skirmish.

He blamed the Awe youths for over-reacting, noting that the matter would not have degenerated if they had exercised restraint.

Meanwhile, the Fulani socio-cultural group, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani, has called for the intervention of the Federal Government to address the exodus of Fulani herdsmen from Benue State following the anti-open grazing law in the state.

The National President of the association, Alhaji Abdullahi Bodejo, described the law, which became effective on November 1, 2017, as an aberration against the provisions of the constitution which guaranteed the rights of every Nigerian to live in any place or states of their choice.

He said, “We have the Benue State Government displacing innocent Fulanis and other pastoralists and Taraba State wanted to follow suit. What have Fulanis done to warrant this persecution?

“Does it mean that the Federal Government and President Muhammadu Buhari are not aware of this development or are they afraid of living up to their constitutional responsibilities?”

Bodejo called on the Federal Government to establish the National Grazing Reserve Commission as part of measures to resolve the crisis.

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